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ABSTRACT
Objective. To characterize the world's scientific production on ethnocentrism and describe the evolution of its research lines over the last 80 years.
Design/Methodology/Approach. Web of Science was used as a data source. Articles related to the study of ethnocentrism were analyzed using bibliometric methods, such as Bradford's Law and bibliographic coupling. A bibliographic review was also developed to describe the main research fronts identified.
Results/Discussion. An exponential growth of literature was observed, as well as the absence of specialized journals on the subject, and a gradual increase of disciplines studying ethnocentrism, which shows a research activity in process of expansion and consolidation. Three main research fronts were identified and described, focused on the study of the personality of ethnocentric individuals, their group attitudes, and their behavior as consumers of products and services.
Conclusions. The study provided a comprehensive overview of the current state of research on ethnocentrism, its evolution and significance in various historical and disciplinary contexts. The absence of solid library research on this topic provides opportunities for future studies on ethnocentric biases in bibliographic collections, user education, and classification systems.
Originality/Value. To our knowledge, this is the first bibliometric study that analyzes the evolution of research on ethnocentrism in a global way. It also constitutes a first approach to the study of ethnocentrism in the field of Library and Information Science.
Keywords: ethnocentrism, bibliometrics, bibliometric mapping, bibliographic coupling, Bradford's Law.
INTRODUCTION
The development achieved by humanity in the course of history would be inconceivable without its mechanisms of adaptation to live in society. During this process, human beings have established moral, cultural, and ideological foundations that makeup what has been termed "cultural identity." In every populated region of the world, this phenomenon is manifested, which characterizes and accompanies people at the group and individual levels throughout their lives. However, it has been a very common characteristic for different groups, ethnicities, or societies to have an attitude of superiority over others and to assume a position where their culture becomes a criterion of exclusivity to interpret and value the behavior of others. This ideological tendency, which has given rise to countless conflicts throughout history, and which is associated with behaviors and actions of violence, xenophobia, discrimination, prejudice, separation of groups, disqualification, and...